The official start of free agency was barely a minute old Tuesday afternoon when it was reported that the Eagles were closing in on a deal to trade quarterback Nick Foles to St. Louis in return for quarterback Sam Bradford and a swap of draft picks.

The deal was finalized later Tuesday as the Eagles are also getting a 2015 fifth-round pick, while St. Louis is getting the Eagles' fourth-round pick this season and a second-round pick in 2016.

There were initial reports that the teams were flip-flopping draft picks, with the Eagles taking St. Louis' spot at No. 10 and the Rams moving back to No. 20. That could have been a clear indication that the Eagles were hoping to move up again to draft Marcus Mariota.

But that doesn't seem to be the case, leaving open the possibility that Bradford, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft is the franchise quarterback that Eagles coach Chip Kelly covets. Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was the offensive coordinator in St. Louis during Bradford's rookie season. So he knows the former University of Oklahoma star well.

But Bradford, 27, hasn't played since midway through the 2013 season when he tore his ACL. He tore it again last summer and missed the entire season. He is due to make $12.9 million this season, the final year of his rookie contract. If the Eagles work out an extension, that would indicate that he's the franchise quarterback.

In 3 ½ seasons, Bradford has completed 58.6 percent of his passes with 59 touchdowns and 38 interceptions on a team that went 18-30-1 in his starts. Bradford was in the midst of his best season when he got hurt. In 2013, Bradford completed 60.7 percent of his passes, with 14 touchdown passes against four interceptions.

Foles had his 2014 season cut short when he broke his collarbone in the eighth game of the season against Houston. He completed 59.8 percent of his passes last season with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The season before, Foles completed 64 percent of his passes, with 27 touchdown passes against two interceptions. He had the third highest QB rating in NFL history at 119.2.

But Foles couldn't duplicate it last season, and after the season, Kelly wouldn't commit to him as the starting quarterback for 2015.

It was frantic start to free agency. Teams were allowed to start negotiating with free agents last Saturday and the Eagles were expected to sign cornerback Byron Maxwell from Seattle to replace Cary Williams. The Eagles released Williams and he ended up replacing Maxwell with the Seahawks.

The Eagles also re-signed outside linebacker Brandon Graham and traded running back LeSean McCoy to Buffalo for inside linebacker Kiko Alonso. They also allowed wide receiver Jeremy Maclin to leave as a free agent, as he will sign with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Eagles only announced the two trades so far, and not the Maxwell signing.

There was also a reported deal in place for free agent running back Frank Gore, which fell through Monday when Gore decided to reconsider. He reportedly signed with Indianapolis instead.

The Eagles still have needs to address in free agency. They need a safety, an offensive lineman, a running back and wide receiver. And even though they trade for a quarterback, they might not be settled there, either.